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The last by-election the commission organised was the Makueni by-election which was largely hailed as a success. CFM.

Kenya

IEBC requires Sh340m for 7 mini polls

The last by-election the commission organised was the Makueni by-election which was largely hailed as a success. CFM.

The last by-election the commission organised was the Makueni by-election which was largely hailed as a success. CFM.

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 4 — The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) announced Friday that it requires Sh340 million to conduct the seven by-elections slated for October 17.

In a statement sent to newsrooms, IEBC Communication Manager Tabitha Mutemi said the commission had already requisitioned the funds from the National Treasury.

“The Commission’s budget forwarded to Treasury for holding the by-elections in Siaya County, Matungulu and Kibwezi West Constituencies, and four county assembly wards is Sh340 million,” she stated.

Three candidates each will be contesting the Kibwezi West and Matungulu National Assembly seats as well as the Siaya Gubernatorial seat with campaigns meant to come to an end on October 15 before the simultaneous by-elections.

Mutemi also said the commission is progressing well in its preparations for the by-elections and had already secured a network provider to facilitate the electronic transmission of the provisional results.

“The Commission has already configured all phones for use in the Electronic Results Transmission System (RTS) and completed the process of procuring services of a network provider. Voters will be identified on polling day using the Electronic Voter Identification Devices (EVID),” she said.

And in a bid to prevent the electronic malfunctions that plagued the March 4 general election, Mutemi said the electoral commission is already training officials who will facilitate the by-elections.

“Training of election officials in all the by-elections electoral areas started on October 2, 2013 and will run up to October 12, 2013,” she said.

The last by-election the commission organised was the Makueni by-election which was largely hailed as a success.

And after October 17 the commission will still need to arrange for the Bungoma Senatorial, Lamu Gubernatorial and the Lungalunga National Assembly by-elections.

However, due to the costly nature of by-elections IEBC Chairman Issack Hassan has encouraged the Judiciary to follow the historic precedent set by Lady Justice Ruth Sitati last month.

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In an unprecedented ruling Justice Sitati declared John Oyioka the Bonchari Member of Parliament after a recount of votes cast in the general election showed Zebedeo Opore was wrongfully declared the winner by IEBC.

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